Split cylinder insulation displacement terminals are used in the telecommunications industry to interconnect equipment and distribution lines. The terminals provide for a quick, mechanically secure and electrically sound connection without the use of solder or wire wrapping tools. An example of a terminal block or module of this nature may be seen in co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 658,268, entitled "Electrical Connector Module with Multiple Connector Housings", by Pohl. As illustrated in the Pohl application, each insulation displacement terminal includes a seam or slot including wire piercing edges which cut through the insulation as the wire is slid into the slot and a trimming edge radially opposite the seam or slot which cuts the excess length from a wire as it is installed.
Also disclosed in the Pohl application is a wire insertion tool which is used to insert a wire in an insulation displacement terminal. As described in that application in detail, the tool includes a central shaft which has a tip portion sized to fit inside the terminal and an outer cylindrical sleeve member sized to fit around the terminal in between the terminal and the terminal housing. The Pohl tool further includes an aperture through the sleeve member whereby plastic and metal residue which works its way up into the tool's tip during an insertion operation may escape, thereby avoiding jamming the tool.
The present invention provides an improved wire insertion tool in which plastic and metal debris is positively ejected from the tool after each insertion operation.